This chapter explores how the gendered character of the refrigerator mother offered an interpretive lens through which experts viewed autism when it was first identified as a unique disorder. ...
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This chapter explores how the gendered character of the refrigerator mother offered an interpretive lens through which experts viewed autism when it was first identified as a unique disorder. Character sketches of these early “autism mothers” emerged from a set of topoi—culturally available ideas and images—about mothers in the 1960s and were found lacking compared to the standard of a warm, devoted, and loving mother. The chapter shows that typified gendered characters can be interpreted as explanations for autism, thereby functioning as heuristics for scientific theorizing. It then considers how mothers began to counter this character and construct a new one that would grant them greater epistemic authority.Less

Interpreting Gender : Refrigerator Mothers

Jordynn Jack

Published in print: 2014-05-01

This chapter explores how the gendered character of the refrigerator mother offered an interpretive lens through which experts viewed autism when it was first identified as a unique disorder. Character sketches of these early “autism mothers” emerged from a set of topoi—culturally available ideas and images—about mothers in the 1960s and were found lacking compared to the standard of a warm, devoted, and loving mother. The chapter shows that typified gendered characters can be interpreted as explanations for autism, thereby functioning as heuristics for scientific theorizing. It then considers how mothers began to counter this character and construct a new one that would grant them greater epistemic authority.

The reasons behind the increase in autism diagnoses have become hotly contested in the media as well as within the medical, scholarly, and autistic communities. This book suggests the proliferating ...
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The reasons behind the increase in autism diagnoses have become hotly contested in the media as well as within the medical, scholarly, and autistic communities. This book suggests the proliferating number of discussions point to autism as a rhetorical phenomenon that engenders attempts to persuade through arguments, appeals to emotions, and representational strategies. The book focuses on the ways gender influences popular discussion and understanding of autism's causes and effects. It identifies gendered theories like the “refrigerator mother” theory, for example, which blames emotionally distant mothers for autism, and the “extreme male brain” theory, which links autism to the modes of systematic thinking found in male computer geeks. The book's analysis reveals how people employ such highly gendered theories to craft rhetorical narratives around stock characters—fix-it dads, heroic mother warriors rescuing children from autism—that advocate for ends beyond the story itself while also allowing the storyteller to gain authority, understand the disorder, and take part in debates. The book reveals the ways we build narratives around controversial topics while offering new insights into the ways rhetorical inquiry can and does contribute to conversations about gender and disability.Less

Autism and Gender : From Refrigerator Mothers to Computer Geeks

Jordynn Jack

Published in print: 2014-05-01

The reasons behind the increase in autism diagnoses have become hotly contested in the media as well as within the medical, scholarly, and autistic communities. This book suggests the proliferating number of discussions point to autism as a rhetorical phenomenon that engenders attempts to persuade through arguments, appeals to emotions, and representational strategies. The book focuses on the ways gender influences popular discussion and understanding of autism's causes and effects. It identifies gendered theories like the “refrigerator mother” theory, for example, which blames emotionally distant mothers for autism, and the “extreme male brain” theory, which links autism to the modes of systematic thinking found in male computer geeks. The book's analysis reveals how people employ such highly gendered theories to craft rhetorical narratives around stock characters—fix-it dads, heroic mother warriors rescuing children from autism—that advocate for ends beyond the story itself while also allowing the storyteller to gain authority, understand the disorder, and take part in debates. The book reveals the ways we build narratives around controversial topics while offering new insights into the ways rhetorical inquiry can and does contribute to conversations about gender and disability.